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Chinese veggie cleaver.

Ok guys, I have been asked to make a Chinese Veggie cleaver. The request is for a damascus clad san mai with high carbon core. and a sanitary handle.

So heres what Im thinking.. For the blade some of Jr's 1080 and 15n20 damascus with a O1 core.. but I want to add a new twist and do integral
bolster for this cleaver. of the same damascus as the cladding. As if the challenge of making the cleaver was not enough I am adding this aspect and challenge myself.. Because I think besides being just way too awesome, it will and add to the balance and feel of the cleaver.

For the handle I was thinking corian.. for sanitary and longevity.

Im telling you guys this to try and get some input as to blade size, thickness, heel heights etc.. Sorta pic your brains a bit B4 I start.
Thanks guys in advance for taking the time to help, and checking out our work.

God Bless
Randy

Inspired by God, Forged by Fire, Tempered by Water, Grounded by Earth, Guided by the spirit.. Randy Haas

Uh... veggie cleaver as in "standard" size slicing cleaver (about 210x110 dimensions), or the long-nakiri type of knife that I actually do hear called in chinese as "veggie knives" (if translated literally)?

I did own a takeda nakiri in the past and as far as I can tell most other nakiri's have the same blade height as a gyuto.
When I hear a "veggie cleaver" I think of something in between a standard cleaver and a nakiri.
I think I would aim for something around 75mm in height at the heel and about 180mm to 210mm in length with little to no curvature on the cutting edge.

A chinese chef's knife gets called a cleaver because it's big and square. It has nothing in common with the functions of a cleaver. It is an all-purpose chef's knife, used in conjunction with a small knife for fruit and sometimes a thicker, actual cleaver for hacking bones and coconuts and whatnot. A Chinese kitchen typically has 1-3 knives, that do everything. A Japanese kitchen can have one knife for every job. It's a different approach to the knives.

A Nakiri is a Japanese veggie knife that is sort of adapted from an Usuba, which is a single-bevel used for slicing up veggies into intricate sizes and shapes and sushi chefs use it to roll sheets of column-peeled vegetables. A Nakiri is double beveled, so it's less of a precision cutter, but takes more abuse.

A Chinese Cleaver is designed to do this:

He's got gobs and gobs of knives, because he is a pro chef in Taiwan. Most Chinese cooks are not so well-off, and the knife style has adapted. A Chinese cleaver is used for doing anything and everything and takes quite a beating. It's a simple concept and an elegant solution to the problems of material cost, weight distribution, ergonomics, balance, tip placement, finger protection, food stickage, blade strength/flex, and profile. Like most simple and elegant things, they are very easy to screw up.

This is gona be a fun blade to make. I have been given no boundary's, measurements, thickness, heights, etc. and Its going to be totally subjective as to how high or large I make the blade. The only request was for a san mai blade and a sanitary handle material.. in either stainless or something that ill be easily cleaned and maintained.

After spending a hour looking at Google searches and stuff, I figured if anyone could help me with this it would be you guys!

Currently Im thinking a 210 blade with a 76mm heel height. and 3mm at the spine with full flat grinds.. ?? But still not 100% sure.. but on paper it looks like a cleaver. Yet still open to other suggestions and ideas.

The person who will receive the knife runs or owns a place that serves only veggie dishes.. There is 2 people between him and I. So I have not had a chance to talk to him and am going off info from the middle man. Which makes it harder for me to make a very specific design knife. I think next week I will cut out the middle man and try and talk direct to the chef thats going to be cutting with the blade. That will probably really narrow it down for me.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate your help and advice.
Randy

Inspired by God, Forged by Fire, Tempered by Water, Grounded by Earth, Guided by the spirit.. Randy Haas

I rented the movie from amazon instant download a few weeks ago, just for the opening scene, but enjoyed it all. As to veggie cleavers, I have a friend who has asked me to make one for him, and I want another for myself. I'm just gonna use the CCK 1303 template with some 1/8" 1080 steel. Not sure about the handle yet. I'll probably keep the spine fairly thick at the back, with a distal taper from there.